A quarter of New Zealanders are cheaters and one in seven in long-term affairs - survey

One in seven New Zealanders have had a long-term affair.
Photo credit: File

More than a quarter of New Zealanders have cheated on their partner and one in seven have had a long-term affair, new research suggests.

The Kiwi Sex Survey compiled by Adulttoymegastore and Colmar Brunton shows that respondents living in Dunedin/Otago were more likely to have cheated on their partner while those who lived in Whangarei/Northland were the least likely to have cheated.

And one in seven New Zealanders have had a long-term affair. People from Palmerston North were the most common to stray from their marriage.

New Zealand-born sexologist and author Dr Shelley Hiestand said if one partner has needs or desires which were not met then they would find other ways to meet them.

"Sexual intimacy is not necessarily the 'be all, end all' for every relationship, but if you do have a strong sexual component of your relationship and then it dies or dwindles, it can become an issue," she says

"For those willing to make it work, being creative with the use of sex aids, bio-identical hormonal therapy, or in some cases opening up the relationship to other people through the swing lifestyle, polyamory or open relationships - which requires honesty of communication - can all be viable options."

The most common hindrance to people's sex life was found to be fatigue, followed by incompatible libidos and stress.

The survey also found that one in five New Zealanders have lied about the number of people they've had sex with.

More than 1000 people were survey and asked what obstacles they faced in their sex lives.